Recipe #4: PORK LIVER STEAK (Bistek Style)

I used to hate liver when I was a child, but my lola insisted for me to eat liver because she said it’s rich in Iron. I was anemic, and I wasn’t fond of iron-rich vegetables such as ampalaya and malunggay. So, in order for my lola to make me eat liver, she cooked Pork Liver Steak which has a flavor similar to bistek (local version of beef steak).

Nowadays, this recipe is one of my favorites. Even my friends who don’t like liver tasted this dish and agreed that it’s really good.

How to do it? Here’s a quick and easy recipe for you:

Pork Liver Steak (Bistek Style) Recipe

You will need:

1/4 kilo pork liver, thinly sliced

3 tbs soy sauce

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

salt and pepper to taste

6 medium-sized calamansi, juiced

oil

butter

1 large onion, sliced into rings

1 large potato, unpeeled and slice

How to prepare:

Place the liver into a bowl. Add soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, calamansi juice, salt, and pepper Marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Add oil and butter in a hot skillet over high heat. Panfry one side of the liver for about 2 minutes (time varies depending on the thickness). Turn it over to panfry the other side for another 2 minutes. Place on a plate and set aside. Pro tip: Liver tastes better if cooked rare to medium-rare because it retains the juices. Over-cooking makes the meat tough and dry.

In the same skillet, add some oil. Fry the potato chips until cooked. The drippings from the liver will give flavor to the potatoes. Sprinkle some salt and pepper. Once done, place the chips on top of the liver.

Still in the the same skillet, fry the onions for about a minutes. Place the onion rings on top of the liver.

Still in the same skillet, pour the left-over marinade and simmer. Gently scrape the bits of liver off the bottom of the pan. Taste and season as needed. Then pour the sauce on top of the liver.

Your lola was right–liver really is rich in iron… and other minerals! Like zinc, copper, manganese. It also is rich in vitamins A, B6, B12, C and D. And di pa siya tapos! May riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, protein and folate pa!But liver can also have huge amounts of heavy metals (it is one of the body's cleansing organs) so liver should be eaten in small amounts or paminsan-minsan lang.